by Louisa Reid
Deeply disturbing, harrowing, dark, there is no let up to the pain in this story of child abuse in a vicarage. The story is told 'Before' and 'After' by twins Hephzi and Rebecca. 'Before' is narrated by Hephzi, 'After' by Rebecca, the event being the tragic and lonely death of Hephzi. 'The Mother' and 'The Father' - as Rebecca refers to them - are cold, cruel and heartless to their daughters. The girls are abused mentally, physically and verbally, and they only have each other as comfort. Hephzi tries to break free by falling in love with Craig at college, but misunderstandings, cruel words and an act of love put an end to this brief ray of sunshine that had broken into her world of darkness. This book will stay with you long after finishing it.
